Wow! Africa's first World Cup has certainly been an exciting one. Although the average goals per game is a less-than-spectacular 2.26, the shocks that have come thick and fast have more than made up for this.

Witnessing seventh ranked France and World Champions Italy both crashing out at the group stage was quite something. Seeing Portugal put seven past a hapless North Korean team was just incredible. And of course watching Bafana Bafana bravely attempt the impossible in their glorious victory over the 1998 champions was heart stopping.

Sadly, of course, Africa's teams have not fared well in the continent's World Cup. That freak Portugal result all but put paid to the Ivory Coast's hopes, while Cameroon and Nigeria simply failed to fire. It was always going to be a big ask for Algeria to get out of a group that had the highly ranked teams of the US and England in it, while Uruguay's 3-0 win over South Africa also left us with too big a mountain to climb.

Fortunately, the mighty Black Stars of Ghana have become only the third African nation to reach the quarterfinals of the world's biggest football tournament. Their brave extra time win over a committed US side has left all of Africa with a team to cheer for. More importantly, with a decent but unspectacular Uruguay side as their next opponents, Africa may never have a better chance of advancing to the semi-finals.

It is perhaps appropriate that Ghana will carry Africa's hopes for making history. The country already went into the record books 53 years ago, when it became the first African nation south of the Sahara to break free from colonial rule. Of course, it may be a big ask, considering the team is without its one genuine superstar, Chelsea's Michael Essien.

Essien was ruled out of the tournament by a knee injury. The same thing happened to his Chelsea teammate Michael Ballack (why is it players named Michael who have consistently been injured?) However, these injuries seem to have been a blessing in disguise. Both Ghana and Germany have found a new lease of life without their supposed key players.

The youthful Black Stars have played with freedom and verve. So too have the Germans - a side that is usually associated with the terms 'workmanlike', 'solid' and 'efficient'. The manner in which a very young German team disposed of England's hopes suggests that they are a side with the ability to score from all over the park. They may well be one of the finalists.

Ghana, of course, lost 1-0 to Germany in the group stages. So perhaps it is time to wish for a modicum of revenge. Here's hoping that youth takes the day and that the mighty Black Stars are able to fly the flag for Africa all the way to a final showdown with Germany.

That would certainly be a match to capture the hearts and minds of everyone with even a hint of African blood!